One doesn't have to go down the laundry list of the accomplishments of Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to know he is one of the best in the history of the game. He would not also be the coach of the United States national team had it not been for his success over the years with the Blue Devils.

After having won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, the top seed in the South Regional of the NCAA Tournament and another trip to the Final Four, 2009-10 has turned out to be one of Krzyzewski's best seasons, even though talent-wise this team probably doesn't rank in the top 10 of the teams he has coached at the Durham, N.C. school since 1980. He deserves serious consideration for national coach of the year.

In a year where national powers UCLA and North Carolina are down mostly due to early NBA defections, Duke has maintained its legitimacy as one of the nation's elite programs, while losing key players up and down the roster. From the last five recruiting classes dating back to 2005, Duke has lost much more than just Gerald Henderson, who was an early entry lottery pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Martynas Pocius, who would have been a fifth-year senior, decided to turn pro by returning to his native Lithuania as he signed with Zalgiris Kaunas. Although Pocius played little in his time in Durham, he certainly would have come in handy this season, as Duke was left with just two guards after last season with all of the defections.

Although it may seen like a long time ago and a long ways away from the ACC, two fifth-year seniors who started their careers at Duke are starters on two of the top teams in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Eric Boateng, a 6-foot-10 center, who transferred to Arizona State after his freshman year at Duke, was the Sun Devils' starting center, averaging 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Boateng also went into the Pac-10 record books for scoring 24 points and finishing 11 of 11 from the field in a 68-60 win over Stanford and former Duke assistant coach Johnny Dawkins. Jamal Boykin, a 6-8 forward, who was part of the same recruiting class as Boateng, left Duke early in his sophomore year and transferred to California. As a starter with the Pac-10 regular-season champion Golden Bears, he averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.

Boateng and Boykin are not alone in defections from Duke. Taylor King, a 6-6 swingman, transferred to Villanova after his freshman year. As a redshirt sophomore, he was the sixth man on one of the top teams in the nation averaging 7.4 points 5.3 rebounds a game for the Wildcats.

Certainly those are four players who could have helped Duke out this season. But wait. There's more.

At the end of last season Duke lost freshman guard Elliott Williams, who transferred to Memphis so he could be closer to his mother, who has a serious medical condition. The 6-5 shooting guard averaged 17.9 points per game as a sophomore with the Tigers and could be in the NBA as early as next year. And if that wasn't enough, reserve forward Olek Czyz, decided to transfer to the University of Nevada, after just a few games into this season. Hard to believe that even the Polish kid who probably wasn't Duke material to begin with even bailed on Krzyzewski.

All of the transfers left Duke with just two guards in summer in senior Jon Scheyer and junior Nolan Smith. But through it all Krzyzewski has worked his magic thanks to the knowledge of his players' academic backgrounds.

Andre Dawkins, who committed to Duke as a high school junior and figured to be one of the top prep players in the nation this year, would have actually been playing his fifth year of high school basketball. After transferring high schools following his freshman year, he was allowed to reclassify as a freshman for basketball purposes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. So Krzyzewski spoke to Dawkins about coming to Durham early and with guaranteed playing time available. The youngster couldn't say no.

It sounded like all the problems were solved and Krzyzewski could relax. But then in early December, Dawkins' mother and sister were planning to drive down to North Carolina to see him play, only to never make it. With his mother also in the car, Dawkins' sister Lacey was killed on a highway in West Virginia. This forced Dawkins to take temporary leave from the team to grieve his loss.

Although not too many prognosticators would have seen Duke as a major threat to win the NCAA title a month ago, the Blue Devils enter the Final Four as the lone remaining top seed. And for all that has happened within the program, the Blue Devils have already shown more than once what it takes to overcome adversity.

We will soon see if they can do it again.